The son-in-law also rises: How Trump rigged Jared Kushner's clearance, then lied about it

On the books, the Trump family business is real estate, resorts and hotel management. The true family business is self-dealing, wrecking institutional norms and humiliating any who get in their way, then lying about ever having bent the rules.

Erstwhile Trump fixer Michael Cohen testified to as much in his congressional hearing last week, potentially implicating both Don Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump in the Trump Tower Moscow discussions.

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Now come reports that President Trump overruled multiple individuals, including former chief of staff John Kelly and ex-counsel Don McGahn, to grant his son-in-law Jared Kushner a top-secret security clearance. This, despite opposition by multiple career White House security specialists, who no doubt worried about Kushner's many foreign business entanglements.

Kelly wrote a contemporaneous memo disclosing Trump ordered the approval. A separate McGahn memo disclosed that the CIA raised strenuous objections. The latter's objection is especially disconcerting given Kushner's central role in shaping Middle East policy.

In January, the President claimed he "was never involved" with the clearances. "I don't want to get involved in that stuff." Uh huh.

Ever the scion, Ivanka last month said, "the President had no involvement pertaining to my clearance or my husband's, zero."

She further contended the reason Kushner's long-delayed clearance was held up was a "backlog." In truth, he had to revise his application multiple times due to "forgotten" financial holdings and, of course, the old standby — undisclosed meetings with Russian officials.

Remember how a candidate for President complained about the system being rigged?